| Hello Friends, This past Tuesday night we held our Back to the Garden fundraising event at Judson Memorial Church. It was an extraordinary night. A great outpouring of support from old and new friends.We presented the Gardener Award to five truly inspirational gardeners. The youth gardeners: Kristina Erskine, Iyeshima Harris and Benia Darius; Michael Young, President of Padre Plaza Success Garden; and Yonette Fleming, founder of Hattie Carthan Market. With our Leadership Award, we honored the NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, a committed supporter of our cause. And we heard an inspiring keynote speech by environmentalist Helen Slottje, who received our Activist Award, presented to honor the spirit of Toshi and Pete Seeger.There was a bounty of delicious edibles, generously provided from L & W Oyster Co., Parmys Persian Fusion Restaurant, Applegate Organic beef hot dogs, exquisite bread from Grandaisy Bakery, jams and chutneys from Beth’s Farm Kitchen, and assorted cookies, crackers, cheeses, beer and wine.
We thank our generous sponsors: Eco Bags, Global Energy Efficiency, NYCC Foodscape, Design Trust for Public Space, Sierra Club NYC Group, SPUR Development Group, Urban Garden City, Amy Nicholson & ZIPPER, and Vokashi — who all helped make our night a success. And of course we are enormously grateful to our musical friends: Diana Jones, Rashad Brown, Travis Tench and Climbing Poetree. You rocked the house! Last but hardly least, a special thanks to our team of dedicated volunteers — for all the time you gave us, before, during, and after — to make the evening special to all of our guests. For those who were there, thank you for coming. For those who missed it we hope to see you next time. And of course if you haven’t done so or feel inspired, you can click here to donate. We are a coalition. That means that all of us are part of a bigger movement. NYCCGC — we the people — only make progress with your generous financial and boots-on-the-ground support. With you we can save, create, preserve and make permanent community gardens throughout the City. Hope to see you all soon! Aziz Dehkan |
